BIG BLACK ENERGY MUSEUM

Our studio project first semester of 2009 was located adjacent to the Los Angeles National History Museum. Proposed was a 40,000 square foot energy museum containing galleries (in the history of energy, emerging technologies, and radical futures,) a theater, cafe and bookstore. The goal I had was to teach the visitors about sustainable energy not only through the exhibitions, but also through the building as example. By cladding our museum in black stainless steel, we are able to harvest the suns energy through solar collector plates, putting the hot water to use throughout the building during colder months through radient heating, and cooling the building in warmer months through equatic cooling. By limiting the glazing to narrow skylights, we reduced the solar heat gain significantly. Through careful calculations we concluded that 40% of the buildings annual energy consumption could be offset through these sustainable methods.